420EX Flash

Doug in Alaska,

Doug you are the absolute best!! Was thinking of photographing my favorite cars. Wow, are you inside my head or what..

Biggest Smile,

P.S. I am through POUTING

I recently upgraded from a 380EX to a 420EX because of its ability to swivel as well as tilt and to be controlled remotely by an ST-E2 or 550EX (should I ever acquire one)

My results have been variable but sometimes very satisfactory.

Main problem is the slow focus of the G3 in low light leading to missed shots. That would be one reason to consider upgrading to an EOS 10D if I could justify the cost and added bulk.
I'm thinking of setting the G3 autofocus to continuous mode to see if that helps.

As a relative beginner to flash photography I'm hesitant to offer advice but this is what I've learnt so far:

- use slow-synch whenever there's enough available light for a reasonable handheld exposure (or it's appropriate to use a tripod)

- make sure the green rectangle indicates focus has locked on.

- alternatively consider using manual pre-focussing using the hyperfocal techniques described at
http://www.marcjutras.​com/ehyperfocal.html to ensure the depth-of-field covers where you expect your subject to be. I haven't tested this but it's on my to-do list.

- when the subject isn't too far away, use a diffuser like the Stofen Omni-Bounce OM-EX http://www.stofen.com/​Store/Products.htm to make the shadows less harsh. According the Stofen website this reduces the maximum subject distance by a factor of 2.5 (or to put it another way, to 40% of its normal value).

Good luck
Adrian